Explore the Family Name Shahidi

The meaning of Shahidi

Muslim (Iran and Afghanistan): derivative of Arabic shahīd ‘witness, martyr’ (see Shahid), denoting descent from or association with someone who had embraced death in the cause of Islam. Some characteristic forenames: Arabic/Muslim Masoud, Massoud, Afshin, Ahmad, Amin, Behzad, Hooman, Anoosh, Ata, Azra, Camran, Firouzeh. Indian Mani, Shahnam.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Shahidi in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname Shahidi has seen a significant rise between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, Shahidi ranked 66,073 in terms of popularity, but by 2010, it had climbed to position 59,901, marking a 9.34% increase. The count of individuals bearing the Shahidi name also grew from 280 in 2000 to 337 in 2010, a notable increase of 20.36%. Consequently, the proportion of individuals with the Shahidi surname per 100,000 people rose by 10%.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#66,073	#59,901	9.34%
Count	280	337	20.36%
Proportion per 100k	0.1	0.11	10%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Shahidi

Regarding ethnicity, the Decennial U.S. Census data shows shifts among those with the Shahidi surname between 2000 and 2010. The majority identify as White, increasing from 79.64% in 2000 to 83.98% in 2010. There was a drop in those identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander or Two or more races, down by 5.2% and 37.21% respectively. Meanwhile, those identifying as Hispanic appeared for the first time in 2010, accounting for 3.26% of the total, while the percentages for Black, American Indian, and Alaskan Native remained at zero.

	2000	2010	Change
White	79.64%	83.98%	5.45%
Two or More Races	16.07%	10.09%	-37.21%
Hispanic	0%	3.26%	0%
Asian/Pacific Islander	2.5%	2.37%	-5.2%
Black	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%